Tromp through the Swamp
by FadedNobody
Summary: Bane and Pike a hunter and smoker/hunter hybrid go adventuring through the swamps then are brought back to the gang by the ever rainbowy Dasher a sled hunter. it all ends well too


**WARNING: NAKED DASHER ALMOST BECAUSE A THONG DOESN'T COUNT, MILD SWEARING AND LOTS OF MUD~**

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WGbroIt was a mess, no three ways around it. There the two unlikely pair stood, catching their breathe on a slightly more solid patch of mud. Panting, with his elongated tongue swaying with each gasp for air, Pike needed a few seconds to get composed and to find his bearings. He was definitely a little worse for wear, with his normally blood-stained white hoodie thickly splattered with thick mud, thorns barbed into his arms and tongues, and bits of branches and leaves caught in his hair. Bane looked no better, with what looked like half the swamp embedded in his fuzzy coat. The past few moments seemed to have passed in a flurry of confusion; to be literal, they DID pass in quite a flurry. The two young infected had just finished running, swinging, leaping, and basically flying through the trees and fallen logs of the swamp, direct purpose to be abandoned. It didn't have a sole purpose, with the initiation having humble origins: Pike had been wandering off, exploring new territory, when he sensed that he was being followed. As it happened to be, he realized it was Bane, a Hunter whom he hadn't spoken to too much, despite him being so closely adored by his Fathers. Of course, the Hybrid could think of nothing better than to make Bane's tracking of him into a game of who could keep up with who. And what started as just basic leaping from branch to branch, turned more and more competitive, until they were both running full-bore, deeper and deeper into the swamp region, innocently unaware of the extent of their travels, running and leaping until both their bodies had reached an exhaustion point. With the stitch at his side finally subsiding, Pike straightened up, looking around. They were so deep into the swamp that sunlight no longer penetrated through the bog, with nothing in sight except trees, shrubs, and murky marshland. The Hunter/Smoker mix turned to Bane, his light grey eyes surveying the other in perplexed inquisition; "Any idea what this place is?" he asked, already doubting that he'd get the informative answer he wanted. They had both been mindlessly darting about, it was clear that neither had taken notice as to exactly where they were, nor where they came from. The Spy-in-training, waiting for a response, absentmindedly began picking out thorns from one of his tongues, glancing around for any additional clues as to what actions they need to take next.

FadedNobodyBane sat on a log and was clawing desperately at his thick fur, wearing only a pair of shorts as the further they moved south the hotter it got. well go figure, from what he'd been taught of geography it would only get warmer the further south they traveled. getting a burr out of his dense once white fur he looked to Pike and shrugged, "Well we're in what I think is called a 'swamp' I saw pictures of it in books Richard used to show me." It had been fun during the chase, having needed a good run to stretch his sore muscles. However now he was more than a little lost, having lost his sense of direction he looked around and scratched at the back of his muddy head with an equally muddy clawed hand. "Its supposedly got a bunch of huge animals and little animals in it. Like alligators and then little long legged birds. the old survivors used to call the alligators dragons.. whatever either of those things are, But they're huge and they'll eat you in one bite, eat wheatley in two bites but still..." Blue eyes glanced about nervously before he hopped over to stand next to Pike. "Just stay out of the water and you'll be good I think" He grinned reassuringly and tried to figure out where they were.

WGbro"A 'swamp'? Hell of a lot of good that tells me", the Hybrid thought critically, reflecting on what Bane had just told him. "So, we're really in the middle of some murky haven to a whole new ecosystem? Great." He straightened up, taking in the full extent of how much the environment had taken a toll on both of them. There was more dark brown and black stains than patches of white on his hoodie, and his normally blood-stained claws were equally eclipsed in the terrain. Now that the sounds of them huffing and gasping for air had died down, a host of so many other noises could be heard; unseen croaks from toads, screeching caws from distant birds, and the slithering, swishing, and snapping of twigs and leaves as dozens of other unidentified creatures lurked in their midst. At times, the bog mist would be light, and the silhouettes of trees could be made out in the distance, but at other times, it got so thick that the ominous grey glow from Pike's eyes were one of the few discernable things to be seen. "So, these alligators, or...dragons, whatever they are, are something to watch for? But i wonder..." his voice trailed off, as he thought more to himself than to Bane. The infection first happened a good long long time ago, so infected must certainly have made their way into this environment as well. But, the question was, to what effect of the swamp play in their adaptablility and even mutation. Pike shuddered at the thought of some swamp product witch or Tank. "Well, to Surviviors, these creatures might be dangerous, but if we can survive living in the same zip code as Tongues, then i'm not too worried. And speaking of out Leader, he's trained us to utilize the best of our traits, so why not do so to get out of here?" He paused; despite being half Hunter, his sense of smell was not as strong, especially with the damning second half of him going to the Smoker genes. "Well, if there's any chance you pick up a smell, lets follow it." he noted to Bane, all the while realizing that due to the thick, humid air, that picking up any lingering scents would be near inconceivable. The Hybrid crossed his arms, pacing back and forth, the tongue protruding from the back of his neck swishing in mild irritation; he hated being so vulnerable and uninformed, but at the same time, his yearning for adventure fueled his ambitions for them to find their way out. As he thought, out of nowhere, a loud snapping noise shot through the mundane setting, causing both infected to abruptly leap to their feet, looking around at where the noise had came from. It was all so sudden and unexpected that neither had the chance to locate its origins. They stood their, frozen in that clearing of theirs, holding their breath and waiting for more sound. And then again, more snapping and rustling of leaves, the sound of some unknown moving at a fast pace, hidden by the terrain. Pike's eyes darted around, his claws brandished in preparation; he couldn't be sure where the perpetrator was, but he didn't want to be caught by surprise. Him and Bane ganged up, back-to-back, looking around the circumfrence of their alcove, preparing for a sudden ambush or charge, but...all to quickly, the sound grew fainter and fainter, fading into the distance, and soon altogether gone, replaced by the dreary, eerie croaking and chirps of both toads and crickets. Pike took a hesitant step away from Bane, becoming painfully aware of the cold sweat that had broken out on his neck. He cursed his intimidaiton; had they been back in the city, he would've took on any potential enemy without discern, but their location in the swamp was messing with his confidence; there was just too much to factor in to get a good grip on the situation. Biting his tongue in frustration and anxiety, he turned back to Bane, "We need to get moving. Whatever that was, I personally don't want to sit around and wait for it to find us."

FadedNobodyChuckling a little bane looked around through the mist and thick humid air, sniffing the hot air he leapt into a rotting tree fur poofing up as the action distressed a flock of birds. he sighed and looked around yelping as the rotted and mossy branch crackled beneath him and after leaping away shattered and fell into the murky water below. landing on a muddy bank he looked around and sniffed about trying to at least catch their scents from the way they'd come. Nothing. lifting his foot and flicking the little limb about and relieving it of some mud he froze and stared at the slightly rippled water. a few logs laid about in the water, each looking as harmless as the next. staring he watched as one of them blinked and leapt away back to pike, "That log just blinked dude." He stared at where it had been only to find that it was gone and the water had merely given a few silent little ripples and swishes. Growling slightly he leapt back into a tree, "Its those dragon things I think, don't step on any of those logs in the water." Sighing happily as the tree held his weight he resumed sniffing about now turned around and seemingly lost. "Do you know which way we came from?" He looked about blue eyes glinting slightly in the dank light.

WGbro"Ugggh...", the hybrid vented in stress, running his clawed hands through his dark brown hair. Looking back at Bane, he raised an eyebrow at what the Hunter had just said; "A log...that blinked at you?" he repeated slowly, making sure he heard correctly. Dammit, the Swamp mist must really be getting to their heads. But the water's previously still surface was disturbed, after all. "Okay, well let's avoid any more dragons. They can keep the water...I don't swim anyways", Pike mumbled that last part, tearing his gaze away from the murky surface. So, finding traces of their scent was no longer a viable means of escape from their situation, but there were other ways anyways. He paced around the parameter of the clearing, observing the thick, overgrown greenery, the grey glow of his eyes varying in response to the different degrees of mist concentration. After analyzing the ground, he leapt up into the trees along with Bane; he may not be quite as agile as the pure bred Hunter, but the Hunter genes in the hybrid sufficed enough for him to scale the rugged trunks with ease. Perched on the branch adjacent to Bane, he finally found what he was hoping to take notice to: the remaining stub from a rather large branch, one that he assumed they had broken off as they came crashing through the clearing. "Hey, I'm betting we came from this way. Shall we go try to retrace our steps?" The hybrid knew that they had to get a move on; much later and it would be dark, and they couldn't be sure if the main Gang caravan could find them in this mess...or just how much time Tongues would be willing to donate to their cause. Slashing a strand of hanging moss in front of him, Pike proceeded forward, scanning the imposing entanglement of brown and green ahead of them, Bane in tow; the two of them unaware that not only was the path they were taking NOT from which they came, but instead lead into even more heavily secluded territory of the Swamp.

FadedNobodyPadding after cautiously Bane followed Pike clawing some twigs from his fur as he went. only gaining more in the process as he stepped passed a few dead bushes. the two of them eventually came to a end of their mucky land coming to an even muddier section of land before there was deep dark water. Bane sighed and looked around, "Cross it? Everything looks and smells the same." Bane clawed at a mat on his chest and then whined as he pulled a thick chunk of mud and fur and let it fall to the muddy ground with a plop, a decent portion of it all sticking to his hand still. "I suppose it all looks similar to where we came from, but do we want to go back or cross?" He looked up and found that there were far too many unstable branches and rotted branches to cross without swimming or bringing down a tree or two with a leap into the canopy. Bane huffed a little, "Hope mum doesn't worry too much. He freaks out when he doesn't know where me, dad or the new pups are."

WGbroAs they moved deeper and deeper into the heart of the swamp, the overgrowth was almost too much; they could hardly navigate and it seemed the environment was trying its hardest to swallow them alive. Pike never envied Bane's thick, furry coat, but never in his life had he been so glad to not have to deal with the ordeal of keeping half the swamp out of it, as was Bane currently embattling at the moment; the poor Hunter looked as if he was at war with the terrain, and he was losing! But all the same, the hybrid could barely surpress his own wimpers as more and more thorns pricked and stuck to his protruding tongues. Soon, the mud melded into ominous, murky waters, and the two infected were found between a rock and a hard place. Pike looked around anxiously, mulling over Bane's suggested options: going back would not only be counterproductive, but running the risk of getting lost trying to get back to square one, but on the other hand, the hybrid couldn't swim, and crossing the rather expansive body of water made him VERY uneasy. "Let's...umm..." He though for a bit, looking for any possible third options. No, they had to keep moving forward. Suddenly, he got an idea; looking up into the canopy, he shot his tongue at a rather broken looking branch, knocking it out of the tree, and using his tongue to drag it across the water. "Hey, how's your leg strength?" he turned to Bane; "we could use this as a flotation device and propel ourselves to the other bank." He squinted across the water; the mist was thick, but the distance was reasonable. He also got the terrible feeling that he was sure he saw more movement on that shore, but nothing was definite, and they needed to make progress.

FadedNobodyBane watched as the branch was brought over, it floated yeah, but maybe enough to carry Pike, but not bane, the hunter was growing up like his dad and was nearing 250 pounds himself. "I.. I won't be able to float on that... "Bane blushed a little, "You know my dad? he's passed on his weight to me and well, you could just say I'm not a very light hunter." He grinned sheepishly, "I could just swim I suppose, be quick about it and hopefully it won't cause too many problems." Chuckling nervously Bane eyed the water and stepped closer to it eying the branch and wading in a little. "You comin?" he said quietly, not wanting to attract anyone's attention but Pikes'. The water seemed still and harmless, hot sun peeking through the branches for a few moments and burning off some of the hot steamy mist and thought it cleared the air some it only heated the air to a near insufferable temperature, off int eh distance behind them he could hear loud strange calls and cries, water churned and splattered followed by a few inhumane screams before it went silent. Then the weird cries continued and seemed to be right behind them before going silent. Something huge leapt through the trees and landed in the water, vanishing for a moment before taking off in a ripple down river, or puddle, whichever made it go away was best in Banes mind. Staring with a surprise and shock he turned to Pike, "Lets leave, now before it gets back." and with that bane slipped seamlessly into the water, Richard had given him some basic lessons on swimming, then of course Dasher had drug him to the river at one point and with Kit tossed him in and began playing in the fifteen odd foot deep water. Hardly giving a moment of patience he was off and paddling across the twenty or so foot wide body of water. The noise crashed behind pike an encouraging start to get him moving twigs snapping as a tree was downed a few feet behind him and something huge and muddy leapt back away cackling and howling.

WGbroPike stared exasperated at the Hunter, shaking his head. They needed to move on, but if Bane could swim, then hell, more power to him. Just as he was about to follow after Bane, an impossibly large, loud, and unsightly monster leapt around behind him. Pike didn't need to think twice; instinctively he jumped into the water, clinging onto the fallen branch while embedding his claws deep into it. He lashed out his tongue, wrapping it around Bane and letting the Hunter tow him across the water. He looked back, bidding for another glimpse of the...whatever it was. But when he looked back, there was nothing, and soon the bog covered up the bank from which they just stood. Staring suspiciously, the hybrid couldn't get past his shaken up nerves; he was totally out of his element, and that muddy monster was so abrupt and without warning; he'd almost prefer startling a witch than come across THAT again. Eventually, the two were back on solid ground again. Panting and soaking wet, the hybrid turned to Bane; "what in the world was that? Some sort of swamp creature, or an infected perhaps?" He hardly cared, he just wanted to avoid it again; he didn't know what it was or it's danger level. Wringing out his hoodie of excess water, Pike gazed around; they definitely were in new territory...great. His tongues drooped in gloom, he needed a break, but the day wasn't getting any longer.

FadedNobodyBane paddled quickly across the water and once he was on land tried once more to shake the dirt from his thick fur. it didn't work and here merely sat there panting, "I don't know and I don't want to know." he stood and wrung out his arm, "lets just keep moving and hope it doesn't come back." he sighed and padded ahead into the brush pushing plants and bushes and half rotted branches out of his way. he was irritated at being wet and tired of being lost and now just wanted to get back to the gang. Huffing a little as he waited for Pike to catch up he looked around and froze. Nearly wetting his pants he spotted one... no several huge scaled things lazing about in the sun. almost as soon as he spotted them they spotted him and Pike. A huge alligator crushed through the undergrowth behind them and Bane growled in fear. "Holy shit." Half a second later and nearly every single one of the creatures turned hissed and charged. Squealing in surprise his leapt away up into a rotted tree, one that didn't take kindly to his added weight and promptly began to fall.

WGbroAs he followed Bane, Pike began wondering what else could cross their path...and he got his answer almost immediately; he almost walked straight into Bane as the Hunter froze in his tracks. The Hybrid was just about to angrily ask what Bane's deal was, when he saw just what was the reason for pause: the so called 'dragons' that Bane had spoken of, and they didn't look one bit friendly. In one moment of panic, the creatures rushed at them; Bane and Pike jumped for safety, and while Pike found a stable branch, Bane wasn't so lucky. The Hunter's weight wasn't supported, and all too quickly, the branch buckled, giving way to the Infected, with the reptiles directly below. Pike shot out his tongues and caught Bane before he was within jaw range; Christ, was he heavy! The hybrid struggled, but managed to hoist Bane up to a more structured level. They gazed down below at the creatures; at least they didn't appear able to scale trees...yet. Pike looked on wearily at the other surrounding branches. Unless these things gave up, the two would have to travel by treetop for awhile, with each limb giving no guarantee to hold their weight. "Well, fuck us. It just keeps getting better and better, huh...?" he muttered to Bane, giving him a sideways glance. They were both a sight to see, all scratched up, filthy, and visibly disturbed.

FadedNobodyBane grinned and sighed shakily in relief, "Holy shit, Holy Shit." he grinned a little and hugged the tree, "Thank you for that Pike." he looked extremely pale and was near clinging to the tree. watching as the Dragons below circled the tree like sharks eager for a meal. "I dunno if it CAN get any better than this." he chuckled and then his pasted on smile fell and was instead one of dread as the strange creature came swinging back. Like a fucking monkey it came flinging its body through the air Bane screamed like a little girl as it went by spraying them all with thick mud and then flipped from a branch above and then screeched realizing that there wasn't another branch within reach and cannon balled into the water. The gators all looked confused and eager. That is till the whatever the fuck it was came back up screeching and cackling like a madman, "WHOOO~! YEA~ YEE HAW~!" the distinct near southern drawl of a northern accented screech made Bane moan in depression, irritation, annoyance and relief. Green eye glinting He grabbed a smaller gator probably seventy pounds and by the tail flung it back behind him and leapt up to crash tackle and wrestle another gator in the water. "COME ON BABY~" He snarled and grinned, several gators stayed and many more swam off in fear of the crazed THING that was attacking. the water churned and a gator was kicked several feet up out of the water teeth snapping and jaws hissing before it fell back down with a crash. Dasher resurfaced on top of a gator huge clawed hands gripping the gators jaws and was slowly flaying the skin from the top of its muzzle. "AW YEA~" He Cheered and whooped clearly having a grand old time attacking the gators as they took off in fear while two or three of the larger ones stayed to try and get a bite of the crazy thing. Bane groaned and laughed, "Only him... ooof course." he chuckled and sighed staring down at the near eight foot Sled hunter as he wrestled with creatures that were only a slight bit bigger than him. Looking to pike he sighed, "I swear to god I don't know him." he chuckled again and resumed watching.

WGbro It...it was a nightmare, by any definition of it at that. There they were, surrounded every which way but up, about to be gator chow when the level of chaos was cranked up several notches. The terrible beast which whom had ambushed them earlier had returned, as filthy, wild and hysterical as before. Pike dug his claws deep into the branch that they were perched on, along with both his tongues wrapping tight around it, almost jumping onto Bane in alarm at the sight of the hectic creature. "Well, that's it. We're dead. Either the dragons or this thing; one or all of 'em are gonna do us in." the hybrid thought in panic. He couldn't move nor attack even if he wanted to, and as trapped as they were, Bane and Pike could only watch as the newly arrived monster jumped and hollered about. But instead of lunging at them, the unknown figure started attacking the alligators! Wild and vicious, he went to work slashing and leaping at them, all the while scaring them away. It was during this spectical that the two infected got a better glimpse at the creature. With all the movement and local splashing, the mud had thinned and a more definite definition could be established, an identity revealed. Pike literally fell out of the tree in disbelief. He crashed through some branches on the way down, but the soft muddy surface broke his fall. He just lied there, staring up in dim disbelief. "It's Dasher. It's fucking Dasher...Thank God..." was all he muttered to himself. He felt a sick hot feeling in his stomach, quickly spreading all over his body. That goof of a hunter had managed to scare the overly proud hybrid out of his senses, all unintentional at that. He could hear Bane descending the tree above him, but Pike preffered to remain motionless, letting the numb pain pulse in and out of him. He just as much wanted to yell at the sled Hunter, snare him with his tongues and make him sorry for scaring him within an inch of his life. But he also saved them both, and it felt so good to see a familiar face. Still not getting up, but turning his head in the direction of Dasher, Pike finally spoke up, "Alright, you win. Which way's out?"

FadedNobodyBane reached out to Pike as the hybrid fell from the tree in shock, a little squeak hissing from him as he watched the infected fall a good ten fifteen feet to the muddily cushioned ground below. Following slowly he clawed his way down and crouched next to him poking his muddy face with an equally muddy finger, "Pike, hey... You alive there bud?" Upon gaining little reaction Bane turned to Dasher and watched as he lost the last alligator with a sad cry of "No wait~ BABY AH CAN CHANGE FOR YOU~!" he then flopped into the water cackling a little and running his claws through his hair and flinging some muddy reeds away with a splatter. He then padded over, the water was a good six to seven feet deep, but he was tall enough that his head poked over and he could merely walk across with minimal difficulty. crouching next to Pike on the bank he grinned down at him and tugged him to his feet easily dusting the hybrid off slightly and removing some mud. "Well first off yall both been headin the wrong way" He grinned a sharkish smile a tooth missing from one side of his upper jaw and another broken during his 'playtime.' "you gotta head on back the other way, Your parents were worried sick when you took off pike and Bane I dun think when Skitter said, 'make some friends' he meant get yerself eaten." He chuckled a little and scraped of some mud from his leg. "I can lead ya If you both want? I'll be sticking close anyways if you two decide to go at it alone. It seemed to be rather adventurous the first time yeah?" he laughed and after a few chuckles began coughing and gagging till he spat up the missing tooth. Grinning slightly he chucked it behind him and then slunk back into the water, "Back this a way to the group you two, dun get into too much trouble~" and with that he slipped underwater, silent as the dead and without a ripple nor swish he was gone, swimming around int he water, even more dangerous than the alligators going around int he waters. Bane sighed, "And thats Uncle Dash for you," He sighed and scratched the back of his head, "Well we better get going, don't want to lose him if he's going to lead us." Dasher popped up a ways away ahead his muddy head and bright green eye glowing brightly and almost creepily in the dank light.

WGbroAs Dasher helped Pike to his feet, a little more forcibly than one might've expected to do so to that of an individual taking such a fall from a tree, the hybrid tried to stop the spinning vertigo in his head. He honestly didn't know what emotion was predominant at this point, he felt shaken, enraged, irritated, relieved, nervous; they all seem to be fighting for his primary attention. Until one glance of his grey eyes...and it soon became very clear what he was feeling, to which all else dropped out of speculation: horror. A thong. A rainbow thong. DONNED MY DASHER. Pike's tongues went limp, his eyes dialating at that bright, multicolored material covering so little of the Hunter. Without hesitation, he turned to the nearest tree and slammed his head against it, half in exasperation, half out of sheer shell-shock. "JESUS CHRIST DASHER, EVEN DAD DOSEN'T WEAR THOSE THINGS!" he snarled, blushing furiously, referencing the fact that even though Robby was a Club Performer, he needn't bare so much as Dasher was doing now. The aftermath of the headbutt to the tree was the precipitation of tree bark, and a splitting headache for the hybrid. Clenching one side of his head in one hand, Pike slowly looked at Bane. Maybe the young Hunter hadn't yet noticed Dasher's questionable choice of attire, or maybe he was just so used to seeing him like that, but Bane didn't initially seem as taken aback as Pike. They hybrid dared glance back at Dash, trying to keep eye focus above the belt line; "You're sure you know your way back? If so...we'll follow you". Pike was over it; though he wouldn't admit it aloud, he had had enough adventure in this Swamp, and he was longing to meet up with his fathers and brother. And yet, he had a sick feeling, at the way Dasher was splashing about in the muck, that the Hunter hadn't yet spent all of his ambitions, and to which Bane and Pike may have to cater to for a bit longer.

FadedNobodyDasher cackled at Pikes reaction to his choice of clothing, or rather lack there of. Crawling up onto land he shook himself, bare skin losing the mud easily he sat down doggishly and stared at the two, "Well lets see you go from frolicking in negative degree weather to sudden heat and humidity. I need some sort of way to cool off." he chuckled and spat out some dirt and blood his cracked tooth having come loose he reached up and plucked it from his mouth and after a little grin he chucked it at pike a decent length of vein attached he danced a little bit on spot as it smacked into Pikes head and stuck to the mud in his hair. "The groups gonna have moved on if you guys wait any longer." He laughed and padded over to Pike and four foot at the shoulder on all fours scooped the hybrid up onto his back. "You can't be afraid of water much hmm? Oh fearless Pike~?" he teased easily recalling the horrified and fearful face of Pike as he had come through the branches and wrestled the gators. Not waiting for a reply he slunk into the water and bane followed sighing at his uncles antics. it was like he was still a teen himself and wondered how old Dasher was. Dasher seemed to take to water like a fish muscles rippling as he forced himself through the water and swam through the marsh. While Pike was attached to his back he was given the full array of scars adorning Dashers back, it seemed like there were near three times as many scars on his back as there were on his front. Crisscrossing and pin holed. Some lumped and rope like, others were near invisible and some were just little lines in his skin slightly risen and lumpy. Bane paddling after in his wake with minimal difficulty. "You two are gonna be in deep shit when you get back, going off on your own..." He muttered, "Your parents will be relieved but I'm not too sure about Tongues." bane sighed sadly. He was already marked as bad because he'd been born without permission, other members took time to remind him of that, but if anything it only made him try harder wanting to not be a mistake in Leaders eyes. Dasher grinned and just to spook Pike dove under for a moment before coming back up to the surface a half second later, "Gotta stay on your feet~!" he teased.

WGbro Pike brushed the cascaded tooth out of his hair, irked at the Sled Hunter's unsubtle response. He still was having an EXTREMELY difficult time overlooking such lucid material and moreover did not like being talked down to. But Dasher was right, the longer they waited, the more ground covered by the Gang and the deeper shit they'd all be in for not making up for lost time. "Fine, let's head out th-..WOAH!" the hybrid exclaimed, being hoisted up onto Dash's back. As he teased Pike about his apprehension of waterway traveling, a snarl twisted on the hybrid's face; if he was gonna be mocked...but his expression changed as the wounds on Dasher's back caught his attention. They were everywhere, not just spontaneous and random, but layered and chronological. Pike knew little of the Sled Hunters, but with this sort of punishment...he wouldn't have expected someone with Dasher's attitude to weather such beatings! Getting lost in his musings, he was caught off guard when the Hunter dived underwater, to the severe displeasure of the Smoker/Hunter mix. Dasher hardly got his taunting cackle out of his mouth before dart-like tongues shot around his neck and chest, constricting tightly, just a notch below asphyxiation, while sharp claws dug into his shoulders. "I will make sure you die before i drown...DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!" Pike hissed, soaking wet hair draping his eyes. Pike was never joking when it came to his fear of water, and it made him feel embarrassed and even ashamed to see Dasher and Bane so at ease in its murky depths. The sooner they got back onto land, the better.

bCackling at Pike some more he was only slightly hindered, "heh I die and you'll drown second of course~" grinning a little he resumed his pace water trickling around him as he went he paused for a moment and shook his head flinging water and mud away before resuming swimming. he began growling lowly in the water the liquid vibrating a little around him and a seemingly innocent log plipped and swam away. Grinning he swam a bit faster and then crawled up onto a muddy bank letting Pike slide off and then shook himself. Bits of mud and water were flung everywhere and as Bane flopped ashore visibly weighted down by the dense mud and muck coating his fur he then began wringing himself out. he was wringing out his leg when Dasher started moving again and they were off he purred a little and shook himself flinging away some mud and padding after. As more mud flopped off Dasher more and more scars were visible along with a few fresh wounds, scratches cuts bites and claw marks. "Heh almost there now~ either of ya wanna say something before you're back in the group~?" he grins and chuckles. "speak now or forever hold your peace~." Bane shook his leg and sighed "I wish I wasn't so fluffy." Dasher laughed and grinned at him. "Bane I wouldn't know who you were if you were shaved all naked and bare, never seen you without that fluff and I'll never know if you lose it." he turned to Pike and chuckled, "what about you? any questions or random things on your mind?" pausing for a moment he turned and reached up into a tree grabbing a towel and drying off everything below his waist then stepped into his shorts before drying off the rest of himself. he then tossed the sopping wet and muddy towel away sliding his harness back on. the leather was thick but worn and the metal buckles and bts clicked together as he tightened the straps and got it comfy against his skin.

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**So~ in this fic I rped with another amazing gay man by the name of WGbro who owns both Pike and Robby~ not sure if Hazard was mentioned but just in case Hazard also belongs to him~ I own Dasher bane the new pups and Skitter~ and Tongeus belongs to the fapulous 13OukaMocha13 all these names are from deviantArt and will not be found on unless someone decides to call themselves that for fun. Hunters smokers and mud men and all them L4D things belong to Valve**


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